Journaling Techniques to Give You Peace of Mind

Journaling has the proven power to give you greater peace of mind while helping you develop valuable insights about yourself and your behavior.

Maybe you've thought about adopting the practice but never taken concrete steps to get started. Here's everything you need to know to embark on your journaling journey, from choosing the right format to easy-to-master techniques that make the process less mysterious so you can reap the wellness benefits.

Why start journaling? The many benefits

Everyone is busy these days. Why should you take precious time to journal? Once you start reaping these benefits, you'll quickly see the value in taking a few conscious minutes to write down the amorphous thoughts in your head.

• Improved emotional well-being: A recent study examined the effect of a two-week gratitude journaling exercise on parents of young children. Those who completed the protocol demonstrated significantly lower stress levels. and greater mental well-being than the control group.

• Greater self-awareness: Who are you deep down? How do you really feel about problem X? It's amazing how putting your thoughts on paper clarifies them and, through that process, creates a clearer picture of what you value and gives meaning to your life.

• Stress reduction: Simply putting your feelings on paper helps you process difficult emotions, reducing your overall stress load.

• Improved problem-solving skills: Your frontal lobe also controls higher thought patterns, including your ability to solve problems.

• Goal Setting and Accountability: Putting your goals in writing helps you develop a plan to make them a reality and allows you to track your progress.

How to start your commute

It's easy to start your journaling journey: all you need is a writing surface and an instrument. However, answering these frequently asked questions can help you customize your adventure.

Should I use a print or online journal?

Some people find handwriting relaxing. However, those with arthritis or who simply prefer the convenience of a keyboard can journal in a password-protected document or use an app. Either way, carrying your journal with you is a smart habit since it's there when you need it and you can take advantage of downtime, like riding the bus.

How can you make journaling a habit?

Twenty-eight days is not a hard and fast rule for creating habits. people adopt habits in different rates. However, setting aside five to 10 minutes daily, even if you're just jotting down a quick list, eventually turns the behavior into a routine.

What do you do when you don't know what to write?

Use technology to your advantage. You can find thousands of journaling tips online to boost your creativity.

11 Journaling Techniques to Improve Your Peace of Mind

Dozens of journaling techniques can give you peace of mind and make your wisdom grow. You can use one or more in your journal; mix them up depending on what moves you on a given day. Here are 11 of the most popular ones to jump-start your eye-opening journey.

1. Gratitude journal

Keeping a gratitude journal is a great starting point if peace of mind is your goal. Research in children shows gratitude plays a key role in happiness from the age of 5 forward. At ages 11 or 13, grateful children are more optimistic and those over 14 express more satisfaction with their lives.

Think about it this way: It's impossible to reflect on the bad things in your life and at the same time write about the good things. Keeping a gratitude journal gently shifts your perspective from negative to positive.

2. Bullet Journal

Bullet journaling is great for those days when your mind is full, but you're short on time. You could, for example:

• Write lists of what you have to do, with a note about why those tasks are important.
• Describes the steps to achieve a specific goal.
• Take a fun, dreamy brain break by brainstorming all the places you'd love to visit or flavors you enjoy.

3. Travel diary

You don't have to be a globetrotter to dedicate yourself to keeping a travel journal. Many useful guides to picturesque places emerged not from highly paid visiting authors, but from locals passionate about sharing the magic of their destination with guests from around the world. Of course, those who plan to visit every national park in the continental US or who regularly take flights to Mumbai and Dubai can also journal about their travels.

4. Food diary

Is your main hobby cooking? Keeping a food journal is a glorious way to pass on beloved recipes and the stories behind their creation.

You can also use a food journal to learn about your body and health. For example, writing down how you feel after eating certain foods can help you. discover mild food allergies that do not pose an immediate life-threatening threat but nevertheless affect your quality of life.

5. Dream journal

If you are lucky enough to remember your dreams, you can gain considerable insight into your psyche by writing them down. Come back to them later to discuss their meaning.

Keeping a dream journal also helps you notice patterns in your adventures while you sleep. For example, frequently dreaming about appearing naked in public may signify a deep-seated insecurity that you may want to address through formal therapy.

6. Prayer Journal

You do not need to belong to a formal religious institution to keep a prayer journal. This technique could take the form of writing letters to the Divine or even your inner higher self if you take a more informal spiritual path.

However, those who are members of a formal religion can seek advice from their leaders about journaling. You may find journals with scripture-based prompts that help you reflect on your beliefs.

7. Reflective journal

Reflective journaling is often what people think of when they consider starting a journal. It's when you ask yourself a question and delve into your answer by writing.

You may have learned this journaling technique in school when your teacher started class with a reflection question that you wrote in a special notebook. Adults can buy books with instructions or solve the big questions that weigh on their minds and that they dare not discuss with others.

8. Confidence Diary

Keeping a trust journal can help you overcome that fear of shame if you feel like it's holding you back in life. While you can write, “I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and damn, people like me” over and over again, this technique works best when you dig a little deeper.

What specifically do you do well? What are your talents and gifts? For example, if you have job insecurity because of AI, list everything it can do that a computer or robot can't.

9. Memory diary

If biting into a madeleine sends you on a Proust-style trip down memory lane, journaling may be the technique for you. This style is more like journaling.

However, you don't have to limit yourself to a boring recital of that day's events, starting with “first, I had breakfast.” You can use a memory journal to chronicle specific, significant events in your life, pulling them out of your brain cells and revisiting them to search for lessons or revel in past joys.

10. Letter Diary

Sometimes getting things moving is easier when you imagine writing a letter to a friend. Although fictional, Lionel Shriver's 2003 novel “We Need to Talk About Kevin” follows that narrative style.

This technique is useful when the urge to rant at someone in your life becomes overwhelming, but expressing your feelings could have unintended consequences. Maybe berating your boss in front of the entire office would get you fired in real life, but you can have fun writing the imaginary dramatic scene in your journal.

11. Art Diary

Sometimes the words just don't come. However, the art continues where the dictionary leaves off. Art journaling is what it sounds like: using visual representations instead of words to work out your feelings.

For example, your journal can function as a drawing pad. Other people feel more comfortable taking magazine clippings to create collages. Even doodling will help reinforce the habit of journaling – it's all about putting pen to paper.

Keep a journal for peace of mind

Journaling has impressive mental health benefits and can give you greater peace of mind. It provides information and clarity while relieving stress and engaging brain regions involved in creativity and problem solving. Whether you opt for pen and paper or an app, you have a lot to gain from this positive habit.

Cora Gold is a wellness writer and editor of women's lifestyle magazine Revivalist, where she covers journaling, self-care, and conscious living. Connect with Cora on LinkedIn, Pinterest and x.